ARTICLES ABOUT BRENT MOREL BY DATE - PAGE 4

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- After striking out Dayan Viciedo and Tyler Flowers in an intrasquad game Thursday, Chicago White Sox prospect Andre Rienzo looked ahead to pitching in exhibition play before leaving for Japan to play in the World Baseball Classic for Team Brazil. "I think (the WBC) is a good opportunity too,"said Rienzo, who will pitch in relief Monday against San Francisco in Scottsdale before leaving for Japan. "We play Japan and Cuba, Japan, the two-time champion, to me is the best team right now because they're the champion.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - As long as Jeff Keppinger continues to make contact, the White Sox and their newly acquired infielder won't be pouting. Keppinger was signed to a three-year, $12 million contract as the Sox try to cut down on their franchise-record 1,203 strikeouts in 2012. Making contact has been a source of pride for Keppinger since his youth, who hasn't struck out more than 36 times in eight major league seasons. "When I was a little kid, I used to cry when I struck out," said Keppinger, who batted .325 with the Rays last season.

Brent Morel is relieved his body and the White Sox coaching staff will allow him to make the most of his opportunity this spring. After being sidelined for most of last season because of a herniated disk in his back, Morel will be allowed to participate in the first workout Tuesday with the pitchers and catchers with the hope he can regain the stroke that earned him the starting third base job in each of the last two seasons. "I can hit live as long as I need to," Morel said Sunday.

Tyler Flowers is 27 but never has played more than 52 games in a major league season. The White Sox, though, have seen enough to make him the replacement for All-Star catcher - and South Side fan favorite - A.J. Pierzynski. Think Flowers will have a little pressure on himthis season? "Yes, there is a concern (about the pressure)," White Sox hitting coach Jeff Manto said. "He's going to try to do well and win over fans and make a media impact. That will be a challenge, just to make him focus on what he can do. " In other words, Manto and first-year general manager Rick Hahn know that Flowers might fail before he succeeds, if he succeeds at all. "He will make mistakes … and we'll just have to move quickly from them," Manto said Thursday in a spring-training preview conference call.

Pitching and defense are viewed as two of the White Sox's strengths in the eyes of manager Robin Ventura. But a reduction in one area - strikeouts - could prove just as valuable to the Sox. "We struck out a little too much last year, and it's a point of emphasis (now)," Ventura told a large SoxFest crowd Saturday at the Palmer House Hilton. The Sox struck out a franchise-record 1,203 times, so first base coach and former franchise great Harold Baines was appointed as the new assistant hitting coach to help Jeff Manto address the lack of contact.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Brent Morel played shortstop in high school and as a freshman at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, and the White Sox could take a look at him as a utility player if he is fully recovered from a back injury. "I don't want to put too much on (him) right now, other than getting healthy and doing what he has to do to get his problems behind him," general manager Rick Hahn said Tuesday at baseball's winter meetings. "If he is 100 percent healthy come (spring training) and doing all the drills and playing spring training games without restrictions and feeling good, we will absolutely see, just like any other infielders with versatility, if he could potentially help us in addition to third base.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — General manager Rick Hahn believes he made progress Tuesday in defining the White Sox's plans to shape their 2013 roster. But he tempered the anticipation that moves may be imminent at the winter meetings here. "I would love to have a press conference and announce a deal that we all felt made us better," Hahn said. "We are not going to rush anything just so we can say 'Hey, look what we did in Nashville.' " There were more indications, however, that the Sox were looking harder at their other options in the likely event that neither third baseman Kevin Youkilis nor catcher A.J. Pierzynski — both free agents — sign with other teams.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Neither general manager Rick Hahn nor manager Robin Ventura ruled out Brent Morel as a candidate for the Chicago White Sox's third base job as a platoon player -- pending his recovery from a back injury. "It's conceivable, but with Brent, let's see him healthy," Hahn said. "Let's get him 100 percent. He feels good now, let's have him go through the off-season, do the work to prepare, then get to Glendale and get through spring healthy. Then we'll set our expectations for him going forward.

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Chicago White Sox - INSIDE PITCH The White Sox aren't saying it, but it seems like the door could be closing on Brent Morel's chances of winning the starting third base job that he held at the start of last season. New general manager Rick Hahn continued to be actively exploring possibilities at third base, whether it be from free agency or trade, and if it isn't addressed before the winter meetings, he will carry that atop his shopping list going into those meetings.